Quotes

"We'll get food

"We'll get food

" cried Jack. "Hunt. Catch things... until they fetch us" (Golding

"You should stick a pig

" said Ralph fiercely. "They always talk about sticking a pig." "You cut a pig's throat to let the blood out

"We're on an island. We've been on the mountaintop and seen water all round. We saw no houses

no smoke

"So we must make smoke on top of the mountain. We must make fire" (Golding

38).

"Jack stood there

streaming with sweat

"Jack took up a coconut shell that brimmed with fresh water from among a group that was arranged in the shade

and drank " (Golding

"then we'd be

you know

"they were used now to stomachaches and a sort of chronic diarrhea" (Golding

59).

"they suffered untold terrors in the dark and huddled together for comfort " (Golding

58).

"we chose those rocks right along beyond the bathing pool as a lavatory" (Golding

80).

"at home there was always a grown up" (Golding

94).

"He would like to have a pair of scissors and cut this hair- he flung the mass back- cut this filthy hair right back to half an inch. He would like to have a bath

a proper wallow with soap. He passed his tongue experimentally over his teeth and decided that a toothbrush would come in handy too. Then there were his nails- " (Golding

"Clothes

worn away

the skin of the body

scurfy with brine-" (Golding

"you could go indoors when you were cold and look out of the window

past the bright copper kettle and the plate with the little blue men" (Golding

"when you went to bed there was a bowl of cornflakes with sugar and cream" (Golding

112).

"He opened his eyes quickly and there was the head grinning amusedly in the strange daylight

ignoring the flies

"I dunno

Ralph. We just got to go on

"the fire's the most important thing. Without the fire we can't be rescued. I'd like to put on war-paint and be a savage. But we must keep the fire burning. The fire's the most important thing on the island" (Golding

"the water bounded from the mountaintop

tore leaves and branches from the trees

"we ought to draw a map

said ralph

"supposing they could be transported by jet

then before morning they would land at that big airfield in Wiltshire. They would go by car

no

for things to be perfect they would go by train

all the way down to Devon and take that cottage again" (Golding

164).

"Look at that! Call that a signal fire? That's a cooking fire. Now you'll eat and there'll be no smoke. Don't you understand? There may be a ship out there-" (Golding

178).

"Aren't there any grownups at all? I don't think so. " "No grownups!" (Golding

8).

"I expect we'll want to know all their names

" said the fat boy

"we can use this to call others. have a meeting. they'll come when they hear us- " (Golding

16).

"Where's Jack?" The group of boys stirred and consulted. A painted face spoke with the voice of Robert. "He's hunting. And he said we weren't to let you in" (Golding

"The chief and Roger-" "-yes

Roger-" "They hate you

"Ralph was looking straight into the savage's eyes. Dont scream. You'll get back. Now he's seen you. He's making sure" (Golding

199).

"He forgot his wounds

his hunger and thirst

hopeless fear on flying feet

rushing through the forest toward the open beach" (Golding

"Are there any adults- any grownups with you?" Dumbly

Ralph shook his head. He turned a half-pace on the sand. A semicircle of little boys

The officer looked past him to the group of painted boys. "Who's boss here?" "I am

" said Ralph loudly (Golding

"Smoke!" He wormed his way through the thicket toward the forest

keeping as far as possible beneath the smoke" (Golding

"There were many things he could do. He could climb a tree

but that was putting all his eggs in one basket. If he were detected

they had nothing more difficult to do than wait" (Golding

"They cried for their mothers much less often than might have been expected

they were very brown and filthily dirty" (Golding

"they obeyed the summons of the conch

partly because Ralph blew it

and partly because they enjoyed the entertainment of the assemblies" (Golding

59).

"I was chief

and you were going to do what I said. You talk. But you can't even build huts- then you go off hunting and let out the fire- " (Golding

"jack was loud and active. He gave orders

sang

"aren't i having none? " jack had meant to leave him in doubt

as an assertion of power

" (Golding

73).

"And we waste time

rolling rocks

"All this I meant to say. Now I've said it. You've voted me for chief. Now you do what I say" (Golding

81).

"The rules!" shouted Ralph

"You're breaking the rules!" "Who cares?" Ralph summoned his wits. "Because the rules are the only thing we've got!" But Jack was shouting against him. "Bullocks to the rules! We're strong- we hunt! If there's a beast

"You got to be tough now. Make 'em do what you want." (Golding

92).

"Grownups know things

" said Piggy. "They aint afraid of the dark. They'd meet and have tea and discuss. Then things 'ud be all right- " "They wouldn't set fire to the island. Or lose-" "They'd build a ship-" (Golding

"He sighed. Other people could stand up and speak to an assembly

apparently

" (Golding

103).

"I'm not going to be a part of Ralph's lot-" He looked along the right-hand logs

numbering the hunters that had been a choir. "I'm going off by myself. He can catch his own pigs. Anyone who wants to hunt when I do can come too" (Golding

"Ralph twisted sideways on top of a writhing body and felt hot breath on his cheek. He began to pound the mouth below him

using his clenched fist as a hammer

he hit with more and more passionate hysteria as the face became slippery" (Golding

167).

"They've got our fire." Rage shrilled his voice. "They stole it!" (Golding

169).

"Jack shouted above the noise. "You go away

Ralph. You keep to your end. This is my end and my tribe. You leave me alone" (Golding

"Tie them up!" Ralph cried out hopelessly against the black and green mask. "Jack!" "Go on. tie them." Now the painted group felt the otherness of Samneric

felt the power in their own hands" (Golding

"Jack turned to Ralph and spoke between his teeth. "See? They do what I want" (Golding

179).

"This implies that while all of the boys want their basic needs met

only a couple of the older ones are willing to do what it takes to ensure their survival." McClinton (encyclopedia of themes in literature)

"The irony is that this method of surviving actually leads to the death of several boys

including Simon and Piggy. The savage nature of the hunters even makes Ralph run for his life as they try to kill him." Jennifer McClinton (encyclopedia of themes in literature)

"Golding's castaways are faced with the usual struggle for survival

the terrors of isolation

"evil- though hysterically externalized as "The Beast" - (Kemp

473). (Novelists)

"the children re-enact the process that has brought them to this state: restored to an Eden

they convert it to an abattoir " (Kemp

"He confirms the reality of the beast and his confession of weakness insures Jack's spectacular rise to power" (Baker

xix).

"The rebirth of evil is made certain by the fatal defects inherent in human nature

and the haunted island we occupy must always be a fortress on which enchanted hunters pursue the beast " (Baker

"and since no boy could reach even the reef over the stretch of water where the snapping sharks waited

they grew accustomed to these mysteries" (Golding

"It has been suggested that it was a mistranslation of a mistransliterated word that gave us this pungent and suggestive name for the devil

a devil whose name suggests that he is devoted to decay

" basic wildness is the theme of the book

the struggle between Ralph

the representative of civilization with his parliaments and his brain trust..." (Epstein

"within a short time the rule of reason is overthrown and the survivors regress to savagery " (Baker

xiii).

"In the first hours on the island Ralph sports untroubled in the twilight of childhood and innocence

but after he sounds the conch he must confront the forces he has summoned to the granite platform beside the sunny lagoon" (Baker

"Simon fights with all his feeble power against the message of the head

against the "ancient

"The whole book is symbolic in nature except the rescue in the end where adult life appears

dignified and capable

"But the island was scorched up like dead wood- Simon was dead- and Jack had..." (Golding

202).

"On the beach behind him was a cutter

her bows hauled up and held by two ratings. In the stern-sheets another rating held a sub-machine gun" (Golding

"We saw your smoke. What have you been doing? Having a war or something? " Ralph nodded (Golding

201).

"Nobody killed

I hope? Any dead bodies? " "Only two. And they've gone" (Golding

"Ralph stirred restlessly in his narrow bed. One chanced nothing! What could they do? Beat him? So what? Kill him? A stick sharpened at both ends" (Golding

198).

"Now the fire was nearer

those volleying shots were great limbs

trunks even

"There arent any grownups. We shall have to look after ourselves" (Golding

33).

"And another thing. We can't have everybody talking at once. We'll have to have 'Hands up' like at school." He held the conch before his face and glanced round the mouth. "Then i'll give him the conch" (Golding

33).

"And he wont be interrupted. Except by me" (Golding

33).

"We'll have rules!" he cried excitedly. "Lots of rules! Then when anyone breaks 'em-" (Golding

33).

Jack broke in. "All the same you need an army- for hunting. Hunting pigs-" (Golding

32).

"Initially

the boys try to set up life on the island much as it was in civilization—they create an island democracy

"as the boys spend more time on the island

they become increasingly cruel." jennifer mcClinton (encyclopedia of themes in literature)

"For instance

in one scene

"Jack

one of the older children

"Their obsession with hunting eventually leads them to bloodlust

frenzy

"In the midst of this commotion

Simon

"Roger rolls a boulder over Piggy

killing him

From the beginning

the "littluns" have nightmares

The book centers around the attempts they make to survive

beginning with forming an island democracy and including the eventual turning from that democracy and its rules. Jennifer McClinton (survival- encyclopedia of themes in literature)

They elect a leader

Ralph

This turning from society begins with their disregarding the rule of the conch shell. It reaches its symbolic peak in the destruction of the conch shell toward the end of the novel. Jennifer McClinton (survival- encyclopedia of themes in literature)

the rule of the conch then is ignored when violence breaks out among the island

Though all of the boys seem excited about the plan to build huts

only Ralph and Simon work to build them while the others play in the lagoon. This implies that while all of the boys want their basic needs met

Nevertheless

the hunt soon consumes many of the boys

However

much like their turning from their island society